ill start off lamborghini urraco 3rd gen firebird (this is a shidboxe because of reliabilty issues and the leaky t-tops) DeLorean
vw golf mk4 1.4 very shit engine although brakes are just impressive opel corsa b (i think) and thats it
As a W211 and a W208 owner here is the shitboxes i love.. I love Ae90 Like my older brothers one he had in 2013 ( this is the very car ) Was hell fun. Any old pre 1990 Hyundai for some unknown reason ( where is one i saw the other day IRL ) My Old W202 ( not really a shitbox but its a base model and i love w202 lots ) Any pree 97 Camry And this old daihatsu charade for some reason. Kinda silly i know But eh. I love mostly the 80s to 90s shitbox cars that where very common here in Perth that are rare. Also XF falcon i love ( those where very unloved in the 90s to 2010s But now those are loved. But yeah.
Anything made in China before 2010 Nowadays, from what I understand, Chinese cars are more on par with Tesla in terms of build quality. Not perfect but not all that bad. That's unfortunate because we don't get any more gems like these - in fact, while their build quality could be questionable at times, some of the more obscure Chinese automakers did some interesting things you would never see elsewhere, like this Volkswagen Passat MPV:
I think the first version of Fiat 126p (or this whole car in general, but 600cc especially) counts in this category, but it has some pros that might save it ultimately Cons: Low build quality because communism Outdated suspension design that was over 20 years old at the time this car started being produced and was unchanged for the whole almost 30 years of production, so by the end it was 50 years old Underpowered 600cc engine with only 23hp Bad weak 170mm drum brakes that had delay issues Low oil pan prone to breaking and leaking Only ran on leaded fuel until 1991, never had factory Diesel Interior literally only had steering wheel, pedals, stuff to start engine, mirror, seats, speedo, tiny AC unit, manual wipers control and lights switch No side mirrors, not even any suitable place to put seatbelts, no emergency lights switch, no safety at all Almost no cargo space, and most of it is taken by spare tire Very loud inside and outside, no suction silencer either Very questionable design, even for its time it made no sense, weird boxy shape overall and inconsistent chrome bits on windows Tiny size, can fit theoretically only 2 adults and 2 kids (practically more) Relatively high center of mass, can fall over with too much grip on the tires Engine mounted on a spring that has to be replaced sometimes Windshield made of the same weak glass as the windows Bad fuel economy mainly due to using an outdated carburetor Unsynchronized 1st gear of 4-speed transmission No steering wheel lock, and generally not too comfortable steering wheel Rear mudflaps but no front ones until 1977 No trims at the time, only 1 version with optional extras Uses Fiat specific lug nuts pattern, you can't change wheels to other than Fiat ones Theoretically can't hold more than 30kg load on the roof Leaf spring wearing off can cause dangerous issues with front suspension It's slow and driving on a highway is dangerous because of both struggling for acceleration and being possibly unpredictable at over 100 km/h Never had a proper sport version, only aftermarket one and prototypes Never had a fuel injection system, always just a carburetor When you close the doors too hard, window levers can fall off Generally breaks all the time Pros: Cool and likable Cheapest car in the world at the time both to buy and to use Extremely easy and cheap to repair thanks to simple mechanics Lasted almost 30 years in production due to constant demand Relatively easy and cheap tuning, since 1991 even a pre-made tuning kit existed A wide variety of aftermarket parts for all variants A lot of variants themselves offering new experience when you have to replace yours with newer one Somehow can hold many people inside and piles of stuff on the roof if you try hard enough Constantly improved over the 30 years of production You can get relatively a lot of horsepower by simply changing the carburetor and modernizing the internals Surprisingly good for rally in near stock conditions (engine swap) Really good base for crazy projects like buggies or 2000hp burnout monsters Weird but cool prototype versions like 6-wheel amphibious or tracked versions Official-ish convertible version available, and in Italy a sunroof version The history of the car is (imo) interesting and entertaining There are some absolutely insane crazy nonsense modifications that you can find puctures of online Funny police version that can't catch up with criminals There are more cons than pros it seems lol, but for a long time it was the only affordable car to buy in Poland so there was no other option. Half of everyone had it, so it became an everyday part of their life for years, and naturally they started to like it. And also over the years many of those cons were fixed, some are specific to 600cc version only. So idk if it really counts in this thread or not. (Maybe it's too old anyway lol, but some people still have the original 70s ones with most parts being original from factory)
Suzuki Swift MA. Cheap as fuck to buy, cheap in parts, very reliable. I trashed mine around so much, I don't know how it survived. Everything from beach driving, to throwing it through bumpy muddy roads. It still does 50 mpg/20+ km/l on long highway drives, and the 1.0 55 hp is fun to push into corners. No power steering, so that can't break. Also, it looks like a Covet, what's not to like?? I had 2 of them (one died, so bought another,) it'll always have a special place in my heart of shitboxes.
My grandads Renault Logan 1.4 Would like to get a 1.6 if I can find one.. Hydraulic steering, manual transmission, and a shitbox to yeet around in, the 1.4 has 75bhp, which is fine if you want to get somewhere but not really quick. The 1.6 has a 90hp engine, which is probably a bit quicker.. ye, the steering feel is good, handling above 100kph is decent for a car that weighs under a ton.
Vauxhall Vectra C. This one is exact spec and colour (star silver) as my IRL car. Pros: - fairly reliable Isuzu sourced diesel - very practical - spacious -lots of torque -good motorway cruiser -easily remappable if you dont care about mpg. Cons: -Handling is dreadful -Ride is disconnected and jelly like - had to replace the injectors twice since I bought it - cheap interior - visibility not great - about as exciting as watching paint dry - £340 a year road tax
A lot of shitboxes that I appreciate are french, because they're quite original, and basically still a little weird... Renault Twingo 1 : Love the look and the interior space ; it's so luminous ! Renault Kangoo 1 : The look is quite nice, inspired by the Renault 4 and a bit by the Twingo (mostly the 1997-2003 prefacelift). I love how cool they are with business liveries Renault Scénic RX4 : I don't really like this gen of Scénic, but the RX4 variant is really original and weird ; that's as amazing as it's ugly Citroën Xantia : Since I'm a child, I've always loved the Citroën Xantia... I don't know why, but the design really attracts me, even if it's quite a Granma's car. I remember of a 1/18 scale diecast car standing in a shop in my city, if I remember, it was in a beatiful dark green color And we can't talk about the Xantia without talking about the Xantia Activa (futhermore with the V6 !) It drives incredibely good in curves ! And what a sound ! Citroën Xsara Picasso : Egg car go brrr... It's really common to see them in Europe but I really like that kind of nice curves on cars, not like today's car, which are quite all agressively designed Citroën Ami : I like this brand new car, even if it's quite a shitbox, because of the small amount of power (8/9 hp). But I love the interior and the essential and cheap looking exterior ! The little hubcaps add some color touches in cities Citroën C4 Cactus (prefacelift 2014-2018) : This is a such weird car, with all those airbumps everywhere ! At the very first moment when I saw this car, I immediately liked it because it was so uncommon ! That's just sad tha Citroën facelifted it and removed quite every originality on the car ! The exterior was serious, but quite strange because we can see that the car wasn't basically meant to look like that (and I really hate the rear fascia). The interior was quite cheap looking, which is logic with the prefacelift, but not with the facelift ! In fact, in 2018, they removed every single piece of "Cactus" Peugeot 205 : I really like the 80's design of that car, and the GTI variant is really famous ! But I also like some other contrie's cars : Fiat Multipla (1998-2004) : Just look at the design, isn't that cool ? And there's six seats !! Futhermore, french Youtubers are gonna make a 1000hp variant with a Corvette V8 ! The car seems to be quite reliable, except some electronic stuff Fiat Panda (every gen) : The Fiat Panda has a really cubic design, which is kept since a beginning. I mean, when you see a Panda in the street, you can immediately say "Okay, this is a panda", because it's quite unique ! It's also really reliaable, and I love the 100hp variant, which is a liitle kart ; it seems to be fun to drive on mountain roads ! Toyota Prius : I'm sorry. (I have particular tastes, please don't judge me) Ibishu Covet : I mean, even if it's not real, I really appreciate this, with all the specific versions ; it's a special car in the game I think ! (And it really needs a remaster)(like the Pessime II)(like the Sunburst)(like the SBR)(like the .... "SHUT UP NOW !" (Okay)(I'll shut up now)..
